A Not So Silent Night
by Rachel-DI
Summary: This Christmas, all Lois wants is to be alone. But alone all by herself, she just can't do it. Fanfic written for the Christmas challenge, at Divine Intervention.


DI FICSTRAVAGANZA

To Sep-the-duh / Season 6 / PG-13 / Silent Night

**A Not So Silent Night**

Darkness and cold. Two things that Lois Lane was not pleased about. Especially when it was Christmas.

Well, Christmas's Eve, actually. December 24th.

It had always been quite hard like this. Every year, during Christmas, Lois felt this way. Sad. Maybe a little depressed. She hated it, but she couldn't help it. The holiday made her think about her mother. Since she had died, Christmas on her house wasn't actually a happy holiday. The General was constantly away, traveling around the world – possibly running away from his problems –, so it was usually only Lois and Lucy. After their mother's death, automatically Lois had become the mother in the family. A role she wasn't ready to play. Therefore, consequentially, Lois and her sister weren't exactly in the best of terms since then.

She heard Mrs. Kent laugh, coming from inside. Lois smiled. She was glad Clark and Mrs. Kent had invited her to spend Christmas with them. Mrs. Kent was like a mother to her. Mr. Kent, even not being among them anymore, was like the father she had always wanted to have, and Clark was… well, Clark was definitely not like a brother. A brother wouldn't piss her off and annoy her the way he did. She was also sure she wouldn't bust the chops of a brother that much. No, not a brother.

More like a good friend. Lois smiled at the thought. Maybe her best friend, why not? She'd never admit that out loud, though.

There had only been the three of them that night. They had already eaten Christmas dinner, and now Lois was sitting on the steps outside the Kent's kitchen door, her arms around her legs, her chin leaning against her knees.

Chloe was with Jimmy – but she had helped the Kents and Lois with the decoration and she would have lunch with them the next day. Oliver had said he wouldn't be able to make it to Smallville on Christmas's Eve, but he would also join them for Christmas lunch. He had told Lois that Christmas was a hard time of the year to him, but, in her opinion, he probably just wanted to be alone.

Lois tightened her hands around her legs when a particularly cold wind blow made her shiver.

She felt lonely. She wanted to be alone as well. But alone all by herself, she just couldn't do it.

Suddenly, Lois heard the radio on the kitchen was on, playing several Christmas songs. She sighed. Lois remembered how Lucy, their mother and her used to sing carols.

Lowly, almost imperceptibly, she started to sing one.

She didn't want to be alone this Christmas, but she didn't want to admit that to anybody. She needed to be rescued.

"Is it my brain playing tricks on me or is Lois Lane humming _Silent Night_ on Christmas's Eve?"

Lois quickly turned her head to find Clark Kent standing at the kitchen's door, smiling at her, hands on his pockets.

Immediately building her walls up again, Lois rolled her eyes.

"How funny." she stated, giving him a mocking smile. "I'm laughing on the inside."

"Well, then I hope I can bring it to the surface, eventually." replied Clark, sitting on the steps, beside her.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked, looking at him.

"I'll ask you. There's a cake for dessert in there, and, considering the way you attacked the Christmas turkey, I thought you might wanna share it."

Lois poked him in the arm. "I'm not hungry."

She turned her gaze away from him and fixed her eyes in a bale of hay.

"Are you okay?" he asked carefully, watching her.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she said, sighing.

"Because I know how hard Christmas is, to you."

Lois looked at Clark again, surprised. "You've been stalking me, Smallville?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, masking her amazement.

"No. I just know it."

She frowned. "I've never told you---"

"Oh, please, Lois." said Clark, jerking his head to the side in a way she found quite adorable. "You think I've never noticed that you've managed to run away from all of our Christmas celebrations, so far?"

She opened her mouth ready to answer, but for some odd reason, she couldn't.

He really surprised her, sometimes.

"I…" she started. And in a way she never thought possible, Lois started to tell him why. "It's just… Christmas was Mom's favorite holiday… And well, after she died, our family kind of… fell apart." Clark faced her with kind eyes that encouraged her to keep talking. "The General was never around, it was usually only Lucy and I, and there was the whole thing about me being responsible for her… Besides, Mom always loved snow… I used to love it too, but when The General was with us, he never let me and Lucy go out there and make snow balls, or whatever." Lois faced one fix spot. "We used to sing Christmas songs when we were young… 'Silent Night' was our favorite… but after Mom died, we've never done that again… So… I don't have many happy memories regarding this holiday."

"Yeah." said Clark. Then, he looked away from her and fixed his gaze in a spot on the floor. "It's not easy for us either. It's the first Christmas without Dad and everything…"

"It has been a year from Hell." said Lois. Clark nodded.

"Tell me about it." he said. Both fell into silence for a second. Then, he looked at her again. "But there were good things, if you think about it."

"Like…?" asked Lois, facing Clark.

"Well, about you… you found your calling…" She smiled. "You became a little less annoying…" he completed, making Lois roll her eyes. "And hey, I gave you the payback for seeing me naked."

Lois poked him in the arm, blushing slightly. "No need to remind me of that. Let's just keep it buried in our minds."

"I sure will…" he said, with a fake dreamy look upon his face.

"Hey!" she said, blushing a little bit more.

"And… well, we've become good friends, haven't we?" he said, smiling kindly.

"Oh yeah, I guess we have."

They stared at each other for a second, until Lois broke the silence.

"Well?" she asked. "Anything else?"

Clark pretended to think.

"There was that time you gave me a lap dance---no wait, that was last year…" He laughed and raised his hands to protect himself as Lois deliberately slapped him on the shoulder.

"Pervert."

"Sailor."

They smiled teasingly at each other.

"So, um…" started Clark, breaking the silence, this time. "How's Oliver?"

"He's okay. He's coming tomorrow for lunch."

"Oh." said Clark. "Chloe and Jimmy will come as well."

"Yeah, she told me."

They fell into silence again. Lois also hated silences like that. It wasn't anything, actually, it wasn't an awkward silence, or a boring silence, it was just… not normal. "Thank you…" she started. "…for inviting me."

Clark smiled at her, resting his hands on his knees. "Hey, I'm just glad you're here."

She looked strangely at him. "You are?"

"Yeah." Clark assured her. Under her gaze, he somehow felt bumpy. "I mean, Mom made a lot of food, and, since it would be just the two of us, we needed someone to help us eat it."

Lois just smiled, seeing through Clark's sarcasm – which sounded a lot like her own, sometimes. She patted him on the back.

"Now, Smallville, that's the Christmas's spirit talking."

Clark laughed.

"Hey, speaking of Christmas's spirit…" he said, taking a little red box from his jacket.

"What's that?" Lois asked, as he handed it to her.

"It's for you." he answered a little uncomfortably, which Lois found amusing. She held the box and examined it.

"If the present is as bad as the package, I guess you'll have to buy me another one."

Clark rolled his eyes as Lois laughed. "Just open it." he said.

Lois looked at it and started to untie the golden ribbon decorating it. Clark watched her in anticipation.

Lois's forehead clenched in awe. She saw what was inside the little box, and her eyes lightened. It was a beautiful and tiny necklace, with a pendant made of something that looked a lot like… _crystal._

"Oh my God, Clark…" she said, still dumbfounded. "That's just dazzling… where did you get it? It must have cost you a fortune---"

"Believe me, it didn't." he guaranteed, with a smart smile. Lois looked up at him. Clark faced her. She had an unreadable expression upon her face. "Hum… did you like it?" he asked, hesitating.

Lois rolled her eyes. "No, I hated it, buy me a new one," she said, sarcastically. "Of_ course_ I liked it!!!" Clark smiled as Lois looked at the delicate necklace. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Okay, now I'm embarrassed about what I gave you." she said, shaking her head while she put the necklace inside the box and closed it.

"Don't worry about it, I actually liked the leather jacket." said Clark, laughing.

"Yeah, right, I wanna see you using it." said Lois, glancing at his jacket and plaid shirt.

"Maybe you will."

Lois smiled. And he smiled back at her, in such a way that made her feel warm.

Her smile faded away. Gee, what was with the weird silences tonight?

She turned her gaze away from his, and noticed a few white spots on her dark coat.

She looked up at the sky.

It was snowing.

There was also a Christmas song playing in the radio, very lowly, but they could still hear it.

And before she could help it, Lois smiled.

She looked at Clark, who was staring at her with the most endearing smile she had ever seen.

He reached to her face.

She did enjoy snow. She also liked how, on his presence, she wasn't feeling so cold anymore. But she wasn't sure she liked the way her heart started to beat a little faster when the back of his hand slightly touched the side of her face.

"What are you doing?"

Clark smiled, brushing some snow off Lois's shoulder.

"Oliver will come to the Christmas lunch tomorrow, right? You wouldn't want him to think you have a serious case of dandruff, would you?"

Lois glared, quickly shaking his hand off and standing up.

"Very funny, Smallville, but believe me, he _knows _I don't have dandruff."

They stopped in front of the kitchen's door, under the roof, so they wouldn't be covered with snow flakes.

"Allright, allright, forgive me for trying to help." Clark said, raising his hands and standing up as well. Lois rolled her eyes. "Now come on, let's get you inside, it's freezing out here and you might get a cold--- Lois?"

She had been looking directly to the ceiling. And her look never left that spot. She froze, and she knew it wasn't from the cold.

Clark frowned and followed her gaze. He froze as well.

Darn Chloe for helping them decorate the house that afternoon.

Mistletoe.

_Oh crap. _

Clark and Lois faced each other. She saw him gulp.

"We don't have to---"

"---not really---"

"---traditions are---"

"---made to be broken."

"Yeah."

Lois tried not to roll her eyes again.

Oh, she hated those awkward moments.

She hated Christmas traditions.

She hated Chloe for placing mistletoe right on that damn spot.

She hated---

_THUD._

---the snow, for falling from the roof, almost hitting her and making her throw herself into Clark's arms, for a shelter.

"Damn gutters." she said, looking to the floor at the same spot (now full of snow) where she had been, a fraction of second ago. Her hands were holding his arms, and his were protectively wrapped around her waist. She looked up at Clark only to find his lips on her eye's level.

She couldn't help but swallow.

"Well, that's awkward." she said, weakly. Clark couldn't form a word.

"Uhuh," he merely said.

When he looked from her eyes to her lips, Lois felt a dangerous and sudden urge to kiss him.

Next, she kicked herself mentally, sending the thought to some place far away from her mind.

_Pull yourself together, Lane, you have a boyfriend, for Pity's sake. _

She shook her head, managing to get out of their embrace.

He was staring at her. She cleaned her throat.

"Well. Um, that was fun, but I don't think Oliver would appreciate it."

Clark seemed to wake up from whatever reverie he was in.

"Yeah, he definitely wouldn't." he said, a bit roughly, what made Lois bite back a smile. "Altough, what he wouldn't find amusing either is the fact that the road is blocked by the snow and you'll have to spend the night sleeping in some guy's bed."

"He would, if I told him this guy will comfortably be taking the couch of his own house." replied Lois, smiling a bit, now.

"So I guess this means I'll sleep in the living room again?" asked Clark, seeming to be normal again, smirking.

"Like old times." completed Lois.

"Like old times."

They smiled at each other, and Lois punched him on the arm before the stare-contest lasted a longer time that it should.

Clark opened the door and walked in the kitchen.

Lois looked around one last time.

It was still snowing, but it wasn't so cold anymore.

That song was still playing in the radio, and now, she could finally recognize it.

_Silent Night_

_Silent night, holy night,  
All is calm, all is bright  
Round yon virgin mother and child.  
Holy infant so tender and mild,  
Sleep in heavenly peace.  
Sleep in heavenly peace. _

_Silent night, holy night,  
Shepherds quake at the sight,  
Glories stream from heaven afar,  
Heavely hosts sing alleluia;  
Christ the Saviour, is born!  
Christ the Saviour, is born! _

_Silent night, holy night,  
Son of God, love's pure light  
Radiant beams from thy holy face,  
With the dawn of redeeming grace,   
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.  
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth._

She looked through the kitchen's window. Clark was grinning at her with the gentlest look upon his face as he twirled the volume button and the song started to play louder.

Lois smiled.

Maybe Christmas wasn't so bad, after all.


End file.
